China to conduct manned lunar exploration mission

(ECNS) -- China plans to launch Chang'e 7 and 8 missions for manned lunar exploration missions, said Yang Xiaoyu, director of the Department of System Engineering, China National Space Administration during a press conference on Tuesday.

Chang'e-7 mission aims to survey the surface environment, water, ice and volatile elements of soil in the lunar south pole, while Chang'e-8 will carry out experiments on lunar resource utilization, according to Yang.

Chang'e 7 and 8 will form the basic configuration of the lunar research station. They will conduct multi-physical field comprehensive exploration of the moon's internal structure, Yang added.

China will carry out large-scale space science experiments based on unmanned tests and manned lunar missions, said Lin Xiqiang, spokesperson for China Manned Space Project and deputy director of China Manned Space Engineering Office.

"We have initially planned nine scientific goals in three fields: lunar science, lunar based science and resource exploration and utilization," Lin said.

In the future, China will launch Tianwen 2-4 missions aimed at asteroid probes. Tianwen-2 is planned to retrieve samples for research into the formation and evolution of asteroids and the early history of the solar system. Tianwen-3 mission aims to collect Martian samples for studying the planet's environment. For the Tianwen-4 mission, it will be launched to explore the Jovian system, Yang said.